Rail-anchor.



H. H. SPONENBURG.

RAIL ANCHOR.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 20, 1910.

Patented Au 22, 1911 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H. H. SPONENBURG.

RAIL ANCHOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 20, 1910.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HIBAM H. SPONENBURG, OF GURNEE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 OTTO R. BARNETT,OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAIL-ANCHOR.

Specification of Letters Iatent. Patented Aug. 22, 1911- Applicationfiled October 20, 1910. Serial-No. 588,150.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM H. SPONEN- mum, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Gurnee, in the county of Lake and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Anchors, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a rail anchor, and has for one of its primaryobjects to provide a novel and improved form of rail anchor in which anefficient grip of the anchor on the rail is attained without the use ofbolts and nuts or similar fastening devices.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rail anchor in .whicha very considerable amount of friction is developed, when the anchor isclamped on the rail, between the parts of the device under the rail andthe under surface of the rail base; and, by preference, to accomplishthis result by providing a suitable Wedging engagement of the parts ofthe jaw carrying members extending beneath or around the rail base.

A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of suchjaw carrying members, or other members employed to constitute the railclamp, that will develop between such members, or some of them, anamount of friction suflicient to keep them in their operative positions,or which, at least, contributes materially to that end.

A further object of the intention is to 'provide a form of rail anchorin which the jaws may be made very solid and heavy; it being a faultcommon to several Well known types of rail anchor that the meansemployed for clamping the jaws on the rail base necessitates aperforation, cutting away or weakening of the jaws at places which makesthem liable to break under heavy strains.

A further object of the invention is to form one of the membersconstituting the device with a part which is adaptedtobe bent over orupset against another of said members, the bending taking efi'ect eitherautomatically as the members are driven together on the rail base, thepreferred arrangement, or by force subsequently exerted on such part.

A further object of the invention is to provide the novel and improvedconstructions, arrangements and devices in rail anchors which will behereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment, in theaccompanying drawings, wherein I Figure 1 is a sectional view of a railshowing in elevation the parts constituting the anchor of my invention,certain portions being, however, shown in section; Fig. 2 is a sectionalelevation taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of thearrows; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the device taken from the lefthand side of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the parts shownin Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation showing the position of theparts at the left hand side of Fig. 1 before they have reached theclamping osition; Fig. 6 is an elevation, with parts in section, of amodified form of rail anchor; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the arts shown inFig. 6, Fig. 8 is a side elevatlon, with the tie shown in section, takenfrom the left hand side of the preceding two figures.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several figuresof the draw- Tt eferring first to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive of thedrawings, A designates a railroad rail, the base of which is designated13. C is one of the ties on which the rail rests. The anchor, as shown,consists of two clamping or rail gripping members D and E, formedrespectively with the jaws F and G which may be of any form andconstruction suitable for gripping the rail base B at opposite sidesthereof. One of these clamping members, the member D as shown, 1s formedwith a depending flange H constituting a tie abutment adapted to bearagainst tie C. Preferably this tie abutment projects a trifle outwardlyfrom the side of the jaw, or the anchor is otherwise formed so that theend other than that provided with the tie abutment stands away from thetie. It is obvious that the device might be permanently secured oranchored to the tie, if desirable, instead of merely bearing against it;or the device might be arranged to abut against or be attached oranchored to some relatively stationary part of the road bed other thanthe tie. In order to obtain certain of the objects above enumerated,specifically in order to develop friction beween the device under surface of :the rail baseand between the gripping members themselves, theparts of the clamping or jaw carrying members D and E which exother sothat when the jaws F and G are driven or otherwise forced tightly on therail base, a considerable stress is developed between the upper wedge Iand the bottom of the rail base, and between the edges of the rail baseand the jaws F and G. In order to obtain a frictional grip between thewedges themselves, and in order to give strength and-rigidity to theentire structure,

the wedge I is preferably formed with the ribs 11 constituting a channelin which fits the wedge J, the latter being preferably formed on itsedges with the ribs or flanges j. The tie abutment- H is preferablybraced by the web K which intervenes between H and one of the flanges iofwedge I. The member D is further formed with a slot L adapted toreceive the end M of wedge J,

the slot intervening between the preferably rounded end N of the memberD and the projecting web or bar P. By giving the slot 30 an upwardinclination, the end M of wedge J is turned by the web P and bent -uparound the end of the member 1). By this arrangement the jaw members Dand E are self locking; although it is obvious that, if desired, the endM might be further bent around by a sledge. F ig. 5vshows the end M justentering the slot L. Fig. 1 illustrates the final position of. theparts. It will be seen that friction is developed between the end M ofthe wedge J and the web or bar P on the othermember which, even if theend M were not bent around far enough to make an efiect-ive lock, will,together with the friction developed between the flat surfaces of thewedges and between the upper wedge and the rail base, tend tohold theparts of the anchor in their operative .or gripping position;

As stated, he preferred construction of the anchor contemplates havingthe end of the anchor other than that on which the tie v abutment islocated, stand a little away from the tie againstwhich the tie abutmentis placed. By this arrangement, any tendency of the rail to creep inthe'direction of the tie tends to swing the free end of the anchor,member E, with respect to the other end which tightens up the clamp andat once checks further tendency to creep. However,

the construction above described is one in which a very tenacious gripmay be obtained by driving the parts together on the rail base by asledge, or otherwise, so that the arrangement of the device with one endfree from the tie, with the consequent tendency of the grip of -.theparts to tighten when a tendency of the rail to creep is developed,

while a preferred arrangement and one which adds to the efiiciency ofthe anchor, is perhaps not essential to a proper operation of thedevice.

It will be understood that the member E is made of tough malleablemetal, preferablymalleable iron. If desired, the whole device may bemade of this metal.

Certain of the features possessed by the rail anchor above described areto-be found in the device illustrated in Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive. Theanchor shown in these figures consists of two gripping or clampingmemhere Q and R, formed with the tapered bars or wedges S and Trespectively, which overlap beneath the rail base, and a fastening wedgeU. The jaw of member Q is preferably provided with a hard metal block orthe upper surface of the rail base, and the wedge S is preferably formedwith the ribs 8 forming a channel for wedge T, the latter projectingthrough an opening in the member'Q, and with the projecting end formedwith a slot adapted toreceive one of the prongs uof the split wedge U; Atie abutment is provided consisting, as shown, of a flange V projectingdownwardly from member Q. The jaw carrying members Q, R, are forced intogripping engagement with-the rail base B by driving wedge U, or the jawmembers may be first driven onto the rail base andthe wedge U employedsimply as holding or lockingmeans. Obviously the wedge actionobetween Tand S develops a considerable amount of friction be-' tween therelatively broad contacting surfaces of the rail base and member S. Thiswedging action insures a better bite of the hard metal part g into thetop of the rail base. i

I have illustrated my invention in two different structural embodiments,but it will be obvious that the invention is not limited to either ofthese forms. I therefore do not intend that the claims be construed aslimited to the particular-forms, devices and constructions shown anddescribed, except as certain of them are specifically limited to suchparticulars. In some of the claims the device is described as engagingwith astationa-ry part of the road bed. The word stationary is used in arelative sense intending some part, such as a tie, which has little orno movement in comparison with the creeping tendency of the rails.

I claim:

- l.' A rail anchor comprising members rel; atively movable transverselyof the rail and constituting a rail clamp, one of said members beingformed with a part adapted to be automatically bent into engagement withanother of said rail clamping members so plate g having teeth 9 whichbite into as to secure said clamp to the rail; andmeans adapted toengage a stationary portion of the road bed. v

2. A rail an'chor comprising relatively movable members constituting arail clamp, one of said members being formed with a part adapted to bebent, by a clamping movement of said members, into engagement withanother of said members so as to secure said clamp to the rail; andmeans adapted to engage a stationary portion of the road bed.

3. A rail anchor comprising relatively movable members constituting arail clamp, one of said members being formed with a slot and anotherwith a part adapted to enter said slot and to thereby securesaid clampto the rail; and means adapted to engage a stationary portion of theroad bed.

4. A rail anchor comprising relatively movable members constituting arail clamp. one of said members being formed with a slot and anotherwith a part adapted to enter said slot and to be bent by a clampingmovement of said members so asto secure said clamp to the rail; andmeans adapted to engage a stationary portion of the road bed.

5. A rail anchor comprising relatively movable members constituting arail clamp, one of said members being formed with a part capable ofbeing bent, and another with means by which said part is engaged by aclamping movement of said members and bent into a position which securessaid clamp to the ail; and means adapted to engage a stationary portionof the road bed.

6. A rail anchor comprising relatively movable members constituting arail clamp, one of said members being formed with a part capable ofbeing bent and another with a slot adapted to receive said part and of aconfiguration which causes said part to be bent when said members aredriven into clamping position; and means adapted to engage a stationaryport-ion of the road bed.

7. A rail anchor comprising two rail clam )ing members, one of saidmembers being ormed with a part adapted to be bent into engagement withthe other of said members so as to hold said members in clampingposition on the rail.

8. A rail anchor comprising two rail clamping members, one of'saidmembers being formed with a part adapted to be bent into engagement withthe other of said members so as to hold said members in clampingposition on the rail, said anchor provided at one end with a tieabutment and forined so that the other end stands away from the tie.

9. A rail anchor comprising two rail clamping members, one of saidmembers being formed with a part adapted to be bent, by a clampingmovement of said members,

into engagen'lent with the other of said members so as to hold saidmembers in clamping relation on the rail.

10. A rail anchor comprising two rail clamping members, one of saidmembers be-' abutment and being formed so that the ther end stands awayfrom the tie, substantially as described. I

11. A rail anchor comprising two 'ail clamping members, one. of saidmembers being formed with a part adapted to be bent, and the other ofsaid members being formed with a slot adapted to receive said part.

12. A rail anchor comprising, two rail clamping members, one of saidmembers being formed with a part adapted to be bent. and the other ofsaid members being formed with a slot adapted to receive said part andto bend the same into position so as to hold said members in clampingposition on the rail.

13. A rail anchor col-uprising two rail clamping members, one beingformed with a. channel on its under side and with a transverse slot, theother being adapted to fit in said channel and being provided with apart capable of bending and adapted to enter said slot.

14. A rail anchor comprising two rail clamping members,one being formedwith a channel on its under side and with a t 'ansverse slot, the otherbeing adapted to fit in said channel and being provided with a partcapable of bending and adapted to enter said slot, said slot having aconfiguration which causes said part to be bent when the clampingmembers are driven together.

15. A rail anchor comprising relatively movable members constituting arail clamp. said members provided with overlapping parts located underthe rail base and conformed so as to produce a frictional grip of theanchor against the under surface of the rail base; and means adapted toengage a stationary portion of the road bed.

16. A rail anchor comprising relatively movable members constituting arail clamp, said members formed with overlapping wedges located underthe rail base; and means adapted to engage with a stationary portion ofthe road bed.

17. A rail anchor comprising two jaw carrying members formed with partswhich extend below the rail base and one underneath the other, means forholding said members together and to the rail when the device is appliedto a rail; and means adapted to engage with a stationary portion of theroad bed.

18. A rail anchor comprising two jaw carrying members formed with Wedgeswhich extend below the rail base, and one underneath the other, meansfor holding 5 said'members together and on the rail when the device isapplied to a rail; and means adapted to engage with a stationary portionof the road bed.

. 19/A rail anchor comprising two jaw carrying members formed withwedges which lie, one under the other, under the rail base, means forproducing a frictional hold between said wedges; and means adapted toengage with a stationary portion of the road bed.

20. A railanchor comprising relatively movable members constituting arail clamp, one of said members being formed with a wedge, and means onthe othermember 26 against "which said wedge is adapted to be driven soas to give a ictional hold between said members; and eans adapted toengage a stationary portion of the road bed.

21. A rail anchor comprising relatively movable members constituting arail clamp,

said members being formed with woverlapping wedges located under therail base, and

one of said members being formed with a slot adapted to receive the endof the wedge on the other member; and means adapted to engage with astationary portion of the road bed.

22. A rail anchor comprising two jaw jaws of one of said members so asto bear against the top of the rail base, said jaw carrying membersbeing provided with overlapping wedges extending transversely of therail and beneath the rail base; and means adapted to engage a stationaryportion' of the road bed.

HBAM H. SPONENBURG.

Witnesses: v

P. H. TRUMAN, H. L. PECK.

